In My Mind
by WolfWing
Summary: Fusion with "In Your Eyes" - a movie about two people who share a special mental bond. So, basically, yet another Adrien and Marinette as soulmates fic.
1. Meet and Greet

**I like soul bond stories, time to time. And I enjoy** ** _In Your Eyes,_** **a movie where two people share a unique mental bond. They can share, to a degree, their senses and tend to use it mostly as a kind of mystical telephone. Of course, the habit of speaking to people who are not there looks suspiciously like being insane to outsiders. This is my take on what if Marinette and Adrien had a** ** _In Your Eyes_** **style bond.**

* * *

When Marinette Dupain-Cheng was two, nearly three, she was in the kitchen while her mom cooked. And like a lot of children that age, she learned not to touch something hot by burning her fingers. Meanwhile, Adrien Agreste was playing with some toy cars while his mother watched him. He suddenly jerked back while yanking his hand to his chest and began to wail. He claimed his toy car felt really hot.

When Adrien was four, he was running around indoors and took a bad tumble down a staircase. Across town, Sabine heard something hit the ground and was distressed to find her daughter sprawled on the floor knocked out cold.

Adrien had an imaginary friend, a girl he named Marin. Which Gabriel could have accepted had the boy not behaved so strangely in public. When he overheard the servants whispering, saying how his son might be a little sick in the head, he discreetly acquired the services of a psychologist to assess the boy. By the time he was six, he was being medicated - which seemed to help a lot and made him more normal again. It took a couple years to get the drug and dose right, but by the time Adrien was eight, he stopped talking to his imaginary friend Marin. He would have had other imaginary friends, the more normal kind, if he hadn't been made afraid of having any, in fear of being abnormal and afraid of disappointing his father.

Marinette was a happy child, with an imaginary friend she referred to as Adri. Sometimes, she would say that Adri was far away today. Oddly, there was the day she claimed he left. She was very sad, but came to be happy again after a few days. Though, time to time, she would miss that imaginary friend. What confused her parents was why did she imagine that her imaginary friend had left and then miss it? But little kids often have strange notions, and she made up other imaginary friends in time. She had forgotten all about Adri when she grew to be a teenager.

Adrien struggled to be the son his father wanted, but he desperately wanted to make new friends and get out of the house. So, one year, on the first day of classes at a school nearby, he snuck out. He hadn't thought it through, as he wasn't actually registered at the school, but had expected that he could just show up and join his friend's, Chloe Bourgeois, class. He didn't make it in that day, but he did make a new friend still. "Hi, I'm Plagg." Plagg was a kwami, a sort of magical mascot for superheroes. Plagg, haphazardly, explained some of what Adrien needed to know, such as how to transform.

"When you're ready to transform, just say 'claws out' and I'll -"

"Plagg, claws out!"

"Not yet! I'm..." Plagg got sucked into the silver ring on Adrien's right hand, cutting off whatever it was he was going to say. The signet ring turned black (with a paw print insignia) as Adrien's clothes was replaced by a superhero's costume. The transformation did a lot to Adrien. It increased his strength, speed, stamina, flexibility, and endurance as well as improving his senses. His durability and ability to resist damage was enhanced. It also cleared out foreign substances from his system, such as the medications he was on. Adrien didn't realize it at that moment, but a long, unused part of his mind was waking up again.

Meanwhile, Marinette was meeting a kwami of her own. But where Adrien gladly took to being a superhero, as it would help him escape the misery of his life, Marinette was unsure. She felt intimidated by the prospect, lacking confidence in herself. But she was willing to try, so she told her kwami, "Tikki, spots on!" Seeing, on TV, Alya in pursuit of the monster, and worrying for her new friend, as well as needing to duck from her mother, she went out onto her roof and made an attempt to use her yo-yo as a grappling line. She tossed it across to wrap on a gargoyle and awkwardly swung into the air.

For a brief moment, Marinette saw, instead of a red gloved hand holding a yo-yo string, a black gloved hand holding onto a silver baton. And in that moment, Adrien, who was thinking of laying his extendable baton like a high-wire, instead saw himself soaring through the air.

"Huh?" He exclaimed.

"Who said that?" Marinette panicked.

The surreal mental break was beginning to bother Adrien. ' _No no no_ ,' he thought. ' _Father is going to lock me away for sure_.' Then he noticed, through the altered perception, that the person in his head was about to swing into a building. "Look out!"

Marinette started at the warning, breaking their connection, and noticed her predicament at the last minute. She tried to change course but managed to bounce off a building before falling, flailing, through the air.

Looking up, Adrien realized he could see a red-clad girl, hair whipping behind her, plummeting towards the ground. He reacted, immediately using the baton to vault himself at her, catching her in mid-air. But he didn't have a landing strategy. Though it wouldn't matter if he had, because all thought fled his mind at the sudden weirdness of grabbing onto someone and feeling he was being grabbed onto, and also the sensation of being the girl who he was grabbing and whom was grabbing him. They tumbled to the ground, and both were pleasantly surprised that they were uninjured by the fall.

"You must be the partner Plagg told me about." Adrien helped the girl to her feet. Marinette blushed, embarrassed by her less than graceful entrance. "Hey, it's alright. I'm learning the ropes too. Though I could have used a warning about this strange telepathy between partners."

Marinette nodded. There was just something so familiar about him, something that felt a little like deja vu. "Sorry!"

Adrien smiled. "I'm ... Cat Noir."

"I'm Ma ... madly clumsy." She had wanted to say more, but a building had collapsed, drawing attention. The boy in black turned to run in that direction. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

"We're superheroes now, right? Come on, duty calls."

"I wish I had your confidence," she whispered to herself.

She was surprised she could hear his voice, soft and warm, as he was already vaulting away. "Just fake it until you make it. That's what all the photographers tell me." Hesitantly, she threw her yo-yo to try swinging off again.

They had caught up to the hulking stone monster at a sports field, where it was attacking Marinette's classmates. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Alya had managed to get herself onto the scene as well. She heard Cat yell, "Where are you, partner?" It was a little odd as she heard it twice, sort of like a chorus that was slightly off.

Looking at all her friends, in danger, and Cat Noir trying to stop the monster, she felt another pang of insecurity. "I can't. I don't know what to do. I won't be able to do this."

"Me neither," she heard his voice even though he was already out on the field dodging and attacking. He must have been distracted, because he got caught by punch and at that exact moment, she felt like she had been punched, the pain lancing through her as all of her muscles contracted and she fell backwards.

Marinette tried to catch her breath. Shaking the daze out of her head, she got up to find her partner returning to his feet.

"Girl!" Alya called up to her, "Come on, the world's waiting for you."

She had only paid the bystander minimal attention, thoughts instead wondering what had happened and full of worry for the cat themed boy superhero. She leaped down to join him by the goal. "Hey, you alright? Did he hurt you? Sorry I took so long."

"I'm fine, Wonder-Bug. I'll be feeling that for the rest of the day, but nothing broken." He flexed his fingers. "I'll just have to use my special power. Cataclysm!" His hand was imbued with a dark, bubbly aura.

Marinette eyed the hand. "What does that do?"

"Destroy stuff. See." He then touched the goal, rendering it to ashes. "Alright, let's cut this guy down to size," he yelled as he ran towards the stone giant.

"No, wait!" Marinette called, only to watch him fail and get knocked back. She was prepared and expecting the pain, so she didn't flinch much. "You only get one shot, and now you have five minutes before you transform back to normal."

"Thanks. I guess I missed that part. What's your power?"

"Lucky Charm!" Marinette tossed her yo-yo up and down came a rubber wet suit. "What am I suppose to do with this?"

Cat Noir shrugged. "I'll go distract him while you think of something."

"I got it. Hey, trust me." She then used her yo-yo to launch him at the monster, who promptly caught him. She sealed the suit around the garden hose and threw herself at the giant. In grabbing her in his other fist, he dropped what he was holding. "Hit the tap," she called to Alya, who turned the water on. The suit inflated, breaking the monsters hold on Marinette, allowing her to break the akumatized crumpled paper causing Ivan to revert back to normal.

And as natural as breathing, she found herself in a fistbump. "Pound it!" the duo exclaimed over a job well done. An oddity as Marinette wasn't prone to fist bumping to begin with.

When she went to talk to Ivan, she heard Cat say, "This girl is madly awesome," in a fond voice full of admiration.

Later, Marinette was in her room watching Alya's amateur footage. As it came to an end, showing her declaring herself to be "Ladybug", she felt pride and excitement in a job well done as he and Tikki cheered. But after, while she was having dinner with her family, the news reported that more stone monsters where appearing all over Paris. She escaped to her room, top find her kwami.

"Why is this happening, Tikki?"

She heard Cat say, "Yeah, I want to know that too." She glanced around her room, but only herself and Tikki were there.

"Huh, Partner? Is that you?"

Tikki looked at her in concern. "I guess you can say I am your partner ... but, is something wrong?"

"You didn't hear that?" Marinette asked Tikki.

But she heard yet another voice ask, "Did you capture the akuma?"

"No, I didn't," Tikki replied at the exact same time Marinette said the same thing.

"Were we suppose to capture the akuma?" Adrien asked Plagg.

Marinette screamed as she brought her hands to her ears. "Too many people talking at once! And where are you?"

"Marinette? Are you OK?" Tikki wondered.

"I'm home, where are you?" Adrien answered.

"Shush, everyone!" Marinette commanded. "Alright, one at a time now."

But she heard Plagg say, "I'm right here in front of you. Adrien, are you feeling alright?"

"And tell your kwami to be quiet, too." Marinette was at the end of your rope. "One crisis at a time. First up ... why am I hearing Cat Noir's voice in my head. Tikki, you answer first."

"I don't know ... are you hearing voices, Marinette?"

Marinette was afraid to say yes; she did not want Tikki to think she was crazy. "So this isn't normal for superheroes? Cat, it's your turn. Why are you in my head?"

"I don't know. This started after I used the Miraculous." Though, he had a strange sense of deja-vu. "I thought it would only be active while we were powered up. Plagg? Are telepathic bond a thing between partners?"

Plagg hummed and muttered as he peered closely at Adrien through slitted eyes. "No, it's nothing I'm doing or ever done. And, as far as I know, hearing voices that are not there is never a good sign."

Adrien sighed. "Yeah, I know. That's what the doctors told me when I was a child. I'm taking meds for this." He then sighed.

"Meds?" Marinette dropped into her desk chair heavily. "Am I going crazy?"

"Oh," she heard Plagg say. "When you activate your powers, things like medications gets flushed out of your system."

"Marinette, what's going on?" Tikki's voice was warm and motherly.

Marinette didn't answer right away, as she looked away from Tikki.

"I used to hear voices," Adrien started telling. "I had this imaginary friend. But Father wasn't happy, so he brought me to the doctors."

"But I'm not imaginary," Marinette muttered, tears forming in her eyes. Her eyes fell upon a picture frame she kept on her desk. It held a drawing she made in crayon when she was six. It was a drawing of her and a drawing of what a six year old would draw of an invisible person.

Adrien looked away from Plagg, down to his feet. "I would cry as if I was hurt. Or see things that wasn't there. And always, I was talking to this girl. My best friend."

Marinette traced the drawing with her eyes, roaming the colorful scrawls as her eyes rose to the words she knew would be written on top.

"So you had an imaginary friend," Plagg scoffed. "Everyone does."

"If that is the case," Adrien pressed, "then how is it I met her? Ladybug isn't imaginary if she's on the news."

There on the drawing, scrawled messily, were two names. Marinette gasped. "Adri?"

"Marinette? Talk to me," Tikki nuzzled the young girl on her cheek.

Adrien frowned. "Is that your kwami? Is your name Marinette?"

Plagg headbutted Adrien to his attention. "Focus, kid. We still have an akuma to defeat."

Marinette turned teary eyes to her kwami. "I failed. This is all my fault. I told you I would be no good as a hero. Now Paris is in danger."

"Don't talk like that!" Adrien shouted. "So we made a mistake. We'll keep going out there until we get it right."

Plagg nodded. "That's the spirit ... though you could talk to me a bit nicer."

"It's my fault. I don't deserve to be Ladybug. Cat, you'll have to do this alone."

Tikki shook her head. "Don't you think you're overreacting?"

"Do it alone?" Adrien repeated.

Plagg shook his head. "Naw, kid. You can't do it alone. Only Ladybug can purify the akuma."

Marinette growled. "Then just find yourself another Ladybug."

Tikki sighed. "Marinette. Come on. You're not being reasonable."

"I don't want another Ladybug. You were awesome," Adrien pleaded.

Plagg shrug. "If you're going to argue with the voices in your head ... think you could get me some cheese?"

Marinette reached for her earrings. Tikki shouted in alarm, "Marinette! Wait-" Then she disappeared as an earring came out.

"Sorry, Tikki. It has to be this way." The other earring was removed.

Adrien frowned. "What way? Talk to me, Ladybug."

Marinette cried. "You're still here? but I took the Miraculous out." Then she ran to her bed and imagined closing a door, dulling the connection.

Adrien grumbled as he leaned back on his couch. "Women!"


	2. Partners

Marinette was eating a bowl of cereal as her father worked in the kitchen to clean the dishes while the TV played hte morning news. On it, Nadja Chemak was reporting on the immobile stone giants spread through out Paris. Tom immediately picked up on her sour mood when the news turned to discussing how everyone was relying on Ladybug and Cat Noir.

"I know how upsetting and scary this is, but don't worry, sweety. We got two superheroes looking out for Paris, and the best way to help them is by showing we're not scared because we trust them."

"But what if Ladybug fails?" Marinette voiced her concern of not being good enough.

"Then I'll save us. Super-Baker to the rescue!" Tom had grabbed a loaf of french baguette from the table and posed with it like a sword. His silliness was successful as he brought a smile and chuckle from his daughter.

Marinette stood up and hugged her dad. "Thanks, Dad." She then went to grab her things for school.

"You're father's a baker?" She heard Adrien in her head.

Marinette quietly grumbled, "Good morning to you too."

"What's wrong?"

"Can't you just go away?" Marinette opened the trapdoor to her room a bit more violently than usual.

Adrien frowned. "I don't want to go back on meds ... but I have to take them three times a day." Marinette could hear the frustration and longing in his voice. Not knowing how to deal with it, she choose to ignore it and go back to getting ready for school.

Marinette slipped the jewelry box with the Ladybug Miraculous into her purse. She felt shame in doing so, but she felt she had to give it to someone better. "Alya would make a great superhero." She had a habit of talking to herself.

"Who's Alya?" the boy's voice said in her mind.

Marinette frowned. "Why can't you leave me alone? You left me once, do it again."

Adrien felt depressed. He was already up, eating breakfast, but no one else was at the table to see his face fall. "I didn't want you to leave. The doctors made you leave. I was so upset ... but Father would have none of it. If I wasn't perfect, I wasn't good enough."

"Whatever. School is difficult enough without everyone thinking I'm going crazy."

Marinette closed the mental door again and left for school.

Meanwhile, Adrien finished his breakfast and went up to his room. He was going to try again to get to public school. "Plagg, claws out!" Out the window he went, unseen by any in the household, and once away he transformed back to Adrien to run to school. His path took him through a park, there was an arch entrance across the corner from his house, aiming diagonally to the main entrance, which was across from the school. He had barely noted a bakery on the corner.

Marinette made it to school, where she was greeted by Alya - who had wanted to show her something.

"Isn't it great? A blog devoted to Ladybug. I call it, the Ladyblog. Bringing all the latest news about Paris's coolest superhero, Ladybug. I already uploaded the video from yesterday. Check out the number of views since I posted the video."

Marinette fell behind her walking friend. "But why do you trust Ladybug so much? All these stone beings ..."

"She's going to handle them." Alya sounded sure and confident.

Marinette couldn't look her new friend in the eye. "What if she isn't cut out to be a superhero like everyone think she is?"

"What are you talking about?" Alya gazed at Marinette in concern. "Oh, I get it. You're afraid. But don't worry. I seen Ladybug in action. She'll protect us." And with that Alya continued her way through the school.

Marinette gazed over, she found her classmates all bunched up in the courtyard. Ivan was looking depressed as he moped on the bench and everyone else looked curious. "You really don't remember?" Alix asked the boy.

"You went, like, totally ballistic - it was so cool!" Juleka's face was hidden by her hair, from the angle Marinette could see her from.

Kim nodded. "You were seriously out to crush me, dude."

"I'm sorry - it wasn't me!" Ivan's voice was full of pain and shame.

Chloe, in a snotty tone, berated the large teen. "Once a monster, always a monster."

Marinette felt bad for Ivan as he angrily stomped off. ' _Oh no_!' she thought to herself. ' _What if he becomes an akuma again? I didn't get Alya the miraculous yet._ '

While Marinette fretted, she heard Chloe get a parting remark in. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out." Her tone was sing-song, but the words were clearly hurtful.

Marinette was worried Ivan might become a monster again, what with all the rock monsters around Paris waiting for Hawkmoth to change him again. "Maybe ... I could try talking to him. You don't need powers to make someone feel better."

"And that's why you're a hero," she heard Adri's voice in her head. He sounded like he was running. Meanwhile, Adrien was running still, almost to school.

She fumed as she followed Ivan. "Get out of my head." She then imagined slamming a door. Which didn't really accomplished much, but she hoped he got the message.

She found Ivan amongst the lockers. He was sitting, listening to some music through headphones. She approached him gently and got his attention with by laying her hand upon his arm. She smiled as Ivan noticed her and took his headphones off. "You know, you should tell Mylene how you feel."

Ivan couldn't look her in the eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, I saw the way you looked at her."

Ivan shot her an upset look.

Marinette rallied. "No, no negative emotions, Ivan."

He glared at her for a moment, then looked away.

"Uh! What I mean is: be positive. I'm sure Mylene has feelings for you too." She then leaned in closer to his ear, and whispered, "Go talk to her."

Ivan looked down. "Phooey. I'm no good with words anyways."

"Who needs words. You could draw her a picture, send her flowers -"

Ivan looked up, hope filling his voice. "I could write her a song?"

Meanwhile, Adrien was being led to class by Chloe. A lot of fans were saying hi to him as he walked the halls with her. A few tried to get his autograph, or even his phone number. Chloe was soaking in all the attention that Adrien brought and she got to share by being by his side. They made their way through the courtyard and up to the second level where the classroom was. Soon they approached the classroom door.

"Wow!" Chloe enthused as she practically danced into the classroom, leaving Adrien by the door. She spun and gestured to his spot. "This is your seat, Adrikins. I saved it for you, right in front of me."

"Thanks, Chloe." Adrien entered the room and slid into his seat. He held his hand out to the kid he would be sharing the desk with. "Hey, I'm Adrien."

Nino quirked an eyebrow. "You're friends with Chloe there, huh?" He then pointed his chin towards the blonde girl.

Adrien glanced over. He could see Chloe handing a piece of chewed gum to another girl who then squished it upon a seat.

"Hey! What's that all about?"

Marinette had rejoined Alya and now was heading towards class with her. "So ... that Ladybug - she's pretty cool, huh?"

"You know it, girl."

"Alya, wouldn't you like to be a superhero and go out and fight monsters and villains?"

Alya pumped her right fist. "Totally! I'm not scared of anyone. Why?"

Marinette rubbed her head, sheepish. "Oh, no reason." As they neared the classroom, Marinette took the Miraculous out and, after one last look, slipped the box into Alya's bookbag.

Then, as the arrived at the door, both could see a strange kid kneeling by their seats. Marinette stormed in, "Hey, what are you doing?"

The kid spun around. "Oh - I ..." And at the moment, they could see themselves through the other's eye. And the proximity felt, to Marinette, like being next to Cat Noir. But any thought she might have given to this was sidetracked when Chloe and Sabrina began to laugh out loud.

Marinette growled and made shooing motions with her hand. "Very funny. You can go now."

Adrien felt bad and wanted to defend himself. "No, wait, I was trying to get this off." But Marinette merely glared at the laughing girls and pushed the boy away from her seat. It was one thing to be made fun of by Chloe, but the last thing she wanted was a reminder of the boy and her failure at being a hero.

After considering the gross gum, she pulled a napkin out and covered the offending object before sitting down. She ignored the boy, who she could feel was feeling down as he returned to his seat. And as much as she didn't want the connection, she couldn't tune out the bond with nothing to distract herself with.

"Now do you see what I mean about respect?" She could hear Chloe say, which was normal as Chloe wasn't trying to be quiet. But she did hear the quietly huffed sigh. She also heard Nino whisper, "Why didn't you tell them it was Chloe who did it?"

Alya then shoved her phone in front of Marinette's face, and Marinette could see photos of the boy on it - he was the son of Gabriel Agreste. Marinette merely frowned and pushed the phone away. She just wanted to forget him and Tikki and everything.

"I've known Chloe since we were little kids. I know she's not perfect, but I can't just throw her under the bus. She's like the only friend I have."

Marinette couldn't help feeling sorry for the boy, what with feeling his loneliness through the bond. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nino spin in his seat and hold his hand out. "I'm Nino, and it's time you made some new friends, dude."

Marinette bit at her lip. ' _Maybe things are working out for the better, anyways_.' And with that, she tried to put Adrien out of her mind. Which might have been possible had Ivan not relapsed once more into Stoneheart.

Ivan came crashing in through the door, causing chaos. Marinette could see Adrien trying to catch her eye, but she pretended she didn't see him. As Ivan held Mylene, Adrien hesitated. "Come on, partner," he whispered as he slipped out of his seat towards the door.

Marinette shook her head. Meanwhile, Ivan and Mylene's discussion took a turn for the creepy. "My name is Stoneheart."

"Why are you doing this?" Mylene pleaded.

"So we can be together - forever!"

And then, Stoneheart had found Chloe and kidnapped her too before crashing through the wall.

Marinette cowered behind a desk. She once more heard Adrien calling her out. "Come on, we can't let him get away."

Meanwhile, Alya had turned from the hole in the wall. "Come on, let's follow them."

She answered both at once. "Oh no. You go on. I'm finding a safe place to stay out of this."

Alya rolled her eyes. "Girl, you're going to miss all the action."

And she heard Adrien in her head agreeing. "I can't do this alone."

Marinette groaned, then noticed Alya's backpack. She grabbed it and held it out. "You and Ladybug will be better off without me."

Adrien made a confused noise. "But you're Ladybug."

"If you say so." Alya than ran out the room.

"Wait your bag!" Marinette gave chase. But, outside the door, she ran into Adrien.

Adrien gave her a comforting smile. "We were chosen for a reason. Please, believe in yourself."

Marinette shook her head. "I just can't. You should go." Then she grew snarky. "You're _friend_ Chloe needs saving."

Adrien sighed. "You're stronger than you know, Marin." Then, seeing they were all alone in the hallway. "Plagg, claws out."

Marinette sighed at the retreating back of Cat Noir, then continued her chase of Alya.

She arrived in time to find Alya taking a video as Cat became surrounded by the Stoneheart clones. She panted as she came to a stop. "I brought your bag, Alya."

Alya, distracted, replied, "Glad you made it. Try to get some pictures or a video."

Marinette gave Alya a look that went unnoticed by the blogger as a fight broke out. Cat was dodging and avoiding, but then the stone monsters started throwing cars. Marinette dove to the street, but Alya almost died - she was saved at the last minute as Cat Noir used his baton to propel himself at the girl. He tossed her safely aside as he took the hit. "I could use help, you know," he said in a low voice from where he got back up again. Alya, meanwhile, used the distraction to slip away and chase after Ivan, figuring Ladybug would be chasing him down instead of dealing with the minions.

Marinette looked at where Alya was rushing towards danger, after nearly being crushed by a car, and then at Cat Noir, who was holding out a hand to help her up with. She glanced at Alya's bag and came to a decision. Accepting the hand up - which felt weird with there strange connection - she then dug the miraculous out.

"Guess there's no running from this."

Adrien gave her a gentle hug. "There's never any running from who we are." She put the earrings in and became Ladybug once again. "Glad to have you back, partner."

Marinette blushed at his smile. "Wouldn't Alya have made a better superhero?"

Adrien shook his head. "She's too reckless. That's my job." He gave her a wink. "Plus, with us, we know what the other will always be doing. We're two halves of the same coin. We share a bond no monster can ever understand or defeat. So come on, we have our classmates to save."

"But, if I only captured the akume the first time, none of this would have happened."

Adrien held her by her shoulders. "The city needs us, it needs you. And we're going to show them that we're the only ones for this job. Not Alya. Not the police. You and me. Trust me."

When they arrived at the scene, in the nick of time to save Chloe, was when Hawkmoth gave the city his ultimatum. Marinette didn't know where she suddenly found the resolve and fire, but listening to the self-important villain made her angry. Her friend Mylene, her classmate Ivan, and even her nemesis Chloe were endangered because of his selfish wants and plans.

She looked at Cat Noir as he looked at her. A glance passed between them as they nodded their heads. They had a job to do.

"Nice speech, Hawkmoth," she applauded as she clapped her hand. "But let's not reverse the roles here." And Marinette didn't even know where she found the words - public speaking wasn't her forte previously - but the words came pouring out: an inspirational speech as she got rid of the evil messengers and made a vow to the city. "People of Paris, no matter what, me and Cat Noir will do everything in our powers to keep you safe." And then she released a cloud of purified butterflies.

"Wow," she heard Cat Noir say. "Marin, you make me love you more and more every day."

Marinette blushed. "I can hear you, you know."

"Uh ... oops." She heard his shy reply. "But it's true. So you'll just have to put up with it."

"Come on, we still have one more butterfly to purify." And not a moment to soon as Ivan began scaling the Eiffel Tower along with his minions.

After a quick and heroic battle, the duo managed to save the day. The plan was simple, get Mylene to accidentally kiss Ivan. Capture the possessed object. Purify the butterfly. And the extra wrinkle was catching the freefalling classmates before they hit the ground.

"Oh, look at your ring. We better get back before time runs out."

Cat Noir nodded and grinned. "I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful partnership." Then the two left the scene together, to make their way back to school.

"You know," Cat Noir said as they raced through Paris, "you shouldn't let Chloe bully you. Stand up to her."

"You know, Kitty, I think I will."

And she did. When she got back to school with Adrien, they found Alya. "You two look chummy." Alya eyed the two warily, unsure about Adrien.

"Did you get your scoop?"

"Man, by the time I got to there on foot, it was already over." She sighed. "Better luck next time, I guess."

Marinette smiled. "That's the spirit."

"Why, I might even unmasked Ladybug."

Marinette and Adrien shared a look behind Alya's back. "Good luck with that."

That's when Adrien's bodyguard drove up. Nathalie exited the car, holding a tablet. "Adrien."

Adrien looked over and sighed. Marinette patted him on his arm. "Be strong."

"Go on ahead, I'll catch up."

And so, Marinette caught up to Alya and they entered the classroom. Marinette, feeling confident and remembering Adrien's words to her, got an idea. She led Alya up to her rightful seat. "I realized that the only person that can make me give up my seat is myself. So come on." And when Chloe tried to get her to move again, Marinette showed the same spirit that filled her when Hawkmoth tried to turn the city against her.

Later, when school was done for the day, Marinette was put out to see it was raining. While she lived the closest of all the students, she still did not fancy walking even a short distance in the rain. Then she heard an umbrella open behind her and then she was covered from the rain.

"I'm glad I didn't lose your friendship after all." Adrien was right next to her. "You're the first friend I ever made, Marin."

Marinette looked down to her feet. "Call me, Mari. And I wasn't mad at you, this morning, but myself. Sorry for taking my frustrations out on you. I knew you were just trying to do the right thing and get rid of the gum, but I didn't want to see you because you reminded me I failed as Ladybug."

"Hey I get it." He smiled softly at her. "Chloe's been bothering you, huh? If she was bullying me, I'd probably lack self-esteem too. But I think today you proved something important."

"To Paris?"

"No. To yourself. Here, take this. You can give it back to me tomorrow." And with one last smile, Adrien handed her his umbrella and walked off.

Marinette smiled and blushed at his retreating back, then the umbrella snapped closed on her as her finger accidentally triggered the button on the handle.

"Let's get home, Tikki."

* * *

 **Should I leave it here? If I can figure out a mostly logical chronological order to the episodes, I suppose I could try more. But, I think this gets the general idea across. Maybe the second season will inspire me?**


End file.
